Getting started

Using Tidio Chat

1. User interface basics

Receiving and replying to visitors’ messages is really easy! This is what the widget looks like from your visitor’s point of view:

When a visitor hits 'Enter' and sends you a message, you will get a pop-up and a sound notification:

The new visitor will appear in the 'Unassigned' section of your sidebar in the Tidio Panel:

As well as in the 'Visitors' tab:

In the Visitors tab, you can also see some additional information about your visitors, including:

Visitor's name - it displays as a randomly-generated unique Visitor ID (e.g. #2ftg9, #5mff3, or #lg0ku), an email address, or an actual name. The latter two will display if you have the Pre-Chat Survey enabled (which you can do in the Channels > Pre-Chat Survey section on the left side of your panel) or if the visitor provided their email during the conversation.

Name of the operatorwho is currently handling the conversation - which displays as a gray, horizontal bar right next to the visitor's name e.g. @you). If you are not seeing it there, it means that no-one is chatting with the visitor at the time.

Flag - indicating the country your visitor is typing from. This data is gathered from the visitor's IP.

Browser icon - representing the browser your visitor is currently using to contact you.

URL - live preview of the particular URL your visitor is currently visiting.

Now, how to engage your visitor into a conversation? It's very simple - just click on the new pending conversation; doing so will take you to the chat window:

An interesting thing happened in the example above: since there was no reply to the visitor for a longer time, an automated message appeared informing that there is a high volume of incoming chats. This is thanks to our automation feature, which allows you to send automated messages when certain conditions are met (for example, when a user opens your website for the first time). You can read more about this feature right here.

In the upper-right corner of your conversation window you will see a location map along with basic info on your visitor - a name/email/ID, the URL address of your website which is currently browsed by this visitor, their browser version, operating system, and IP address. If you had the Pre-Chat Survey enabled, all info gathered from it will display there as well (e.g. a phone number).

You can respond to visitors by typing your message in the conversation window and hitting 'Enter' on your keyboard. It's also possible to send a file or a picture during a conversation by clicking on the paperclip icon on the right side of the messaging field. Your customers can also do that from their end, by clicking on the cogwheel icon and choosing the 'Send file' option:

And here's what the final exchange looks like:

2. Adding new operators

Each Tidio account allows you to have up to 3 users (1 account owner + 2 additional operators) to help you with responding to your visitors’ queries. To add a new operator, please proceed to the Settings > Operators section on the left side of your panel and click on the blue ‘Add an Operator’ button:

Once clicked, a pop-up window will open and you will be asked to enter your new operator’s name and email address - this information will be used to access the panel. After entering the data, a temporary password will be generated - simply click on the ‘Add’ button to complete the process.

A confirmation email containing the operator’s password will be sent to the email address you specified. From that point on, your operator is free to log in via www.tidiochat.com or the desktop/mobile app to access the panel.

Of course, it’s possible to have more than three operators at a time - to learn more about that, feel free to click on the ‘Upgrade’ button in the upper-right corner of your panel.

3. Managing conversations

After a conversation has been picked up (either by clicking on the system notification or by opening it from the 'Unassigned' column in the panel), operators who assigned themselves to it are responsible for handling the chat. The next step is simply reading the visitor's message, typing in your reply, and letting the conversation take its course.

Whenever a visitor considers the chat finished, it's enough to minimize the widget - if there's another doubt or question they'd like to ask you, after opening the chat window again, the conversation will be visible for them right where you left off. For the operator, the chat will stay in the active conversations panel until they unassign themself from it. There are a few of ways to do that:

Clicking the 'Leave' button in the upper-left corner of the chat window, right next to the visitor's name:

Hitting the CTRL + Delete keys on the keyboard while in the conversation window (applicable for both Windows and Mac);

Selecting a chat from the column and clicking on the 'Leave conversations' button. This option allows you to select one chat, multiple ones, or all of them (by clicking on the 'Check all' option after selecting the first chat). To select a conversation, simply click directly on the visitor's avatar, like on the screenshot below:

At any point, the conversation can be transferred to another operator if they're more suited to answer the visitor's question, you need to step out for a minute, or your workload is too heavy at the moment. To transfer a conversation, simply click the three-dots menu right under the location map and select the 'Reassign operator' option:

From there, just select the appropriate person from the list and hit 'Assign':

And it’s done!

The chat window will display a message indicating that a new operator has joined the chat and that the conversation has been transferred:

Finally, when you consider the conversation finished, you can un-assign yourself from it by clicking on the 'Leave' button located in the upper-left corner of your panel. If all operators have left the conversation, the next time the same visitor sends you a message, it will display in the 'Unassigned' column, just like any other incoming chat. All operators who are currently online will see the notification about an incoming message and will be able to jump right into the conversation. You can also leave a conversation by using the three-dots menu option or simply hitting CTRL + Delete on your keyboard:

4. Uploading your pictures

A detailed guide explaining the kinds of avatars in your panel, as well as the recommended sizes and file formats, can be found right here.

5. Switching to Snooze

When you feel your work is done for the day, you can change your status from Notifications Enabled to Snooze Notifications, or log out of the panel completely. Doing either will cause your widget to notify your visitors when they can expect a reply from you. They will still be able to send you a message along with their contact email, which you can have forwarded directly to your email inbox. Here's what the widget looks like:

Both changing your status and logging out of the panel can be done from the slide-out menu, which you can open by clicking on the operator's picture in the upper-right corner of your panel (if you haven't uploaded a picture yet, you will see a placeholder image - here you can find our short guide to the pictures in the panel). After clicking on it, you should see a screen like the one below, where you can change your status or log out of the chat:

If you would like to receive email notifications for any messages you receive while logged out or set to Snooze, you can configure that under Settings > Preferences > Send email notifications. Just be aware that the email notifications are sent in intervals of 5-10 minutes, so you will not see them immediately in your inbox.

You can also set your "Do not Disturb" hours within your Tidio Panel, so that your notifications will automatically be snoozed between the hours of your choosing. You can do that under Settings > Notifications > Do not Disturb:

You can also edit the message that shows up when you're not available. Check the Appearance guide here to learn more about it.

6. Upgrading your account

Upon signing up for Tidio, you will start with a lifetime free Basic plan. During this time you have access to all of the features that are necessary to answer incoming conversations with up to 3 users forever free!

If you opt to continue with a Basic account, that's totally fine - you will be able to use the chat for free forever. Keep in mind, however, that this version's features are slightly limited. If you want to make the best out of our app, don’t hesitate to read our detailed step-by-step guide on upgrading your account.

7. Chat on site

The ‘Chat on Site’ feature can be found in the Channels > Chat on Site section on the left side of your Tidio panel. Inside you will find a URL which opens the chat in a new tab of your browser. This feature comes in handy if you’d like to design a custom button on your site and simply link the chat site to it, as well as include it in your emails and social media pages.

These are the basics of using Tidio to communicate with your visitors! If you have any other questions regarding the way our app works, feel free to browse through our knowledge base articles or contact us directly via the chat widget on www.tidiochat.com or via email at [email protected]